-A Clean Slate-

Summary- The Autobots won the war and Cybertron has been restored. Life is good for the Autobots. But what about the Decepticons? Well, Ex-Decepticons since it is now illegal for any bot to associate themselves with the disbanded faction. Can a bad reputation, built over millennia be forgotten just because the war is over? Is there anything that will be able to change others' views of them?

Disclaimer- I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro. I don't now nor will I ever make any money from this fan fiction.

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-First Impressions-

The femme pulled herself from recharge in a panic and tried to focus her hazy optics on the mech looming over her. She couldn't see an insignia anywhere on his chassis but the blood red optics and gleaming silver claws were a dead give away that he was without a doubt a Decepticon.

That, coupled with the fact that she was restrained to a berth in what looked like some sort of lab did not bode well for her.

"Welcome back to the waking world young femme-bot." His tone was flippantly casual and there was no hint of the hateful, sneering anger she was used to seeing on a Con's face plate. This was so much scarier. He had a relaxed smirk resting over his features. He was messing with her. She was doomed for sure.

"Where am I?"

"You're in my med-bay. You were in pretty poor shape when you were brought to me. I had to scrape a lot of rust out of you but I think I did a pretty decent job fixing you up, if I do say so myself."

With a flick of a switch, her ankles and wrists were unshackled, releasing her. She sat up quickly, bringing her knees up to cover her spark chamber protectively.

"I apologise for the restraints my dear but one can never be too careful. It's better to be safe than sorry I've found."

"Who are you?"

"I am Knockout. Chief Medic aboard the Nemesis." He was the only medic on the ship but that was only a minor detail, hardly worth mentioning.

Knockout! She knew this Con by reputation only. And what a reputation it was.

Stories of torture, mad science and disassembling living subjects who still had their pain receptors activated, among other atrocities, instantly sprang to the forefront of her processor.

Scanning the room for an escape rout, she saw the exit. It was painfully close, only a few steps from where she was sitting. But the 'Cons wouldn't make her escape that easy. The door was most assuredly locked and on the other side would be a maze of corridors to navigate and Decepticon soldiers that she had no hope of overpowering. And what if the warship was in the air? What would she do then?

The 'Con cleared his throat, pulling her attention away from her thoughts and back to him. "So femme, now that I've told you my name, may I know yours?"

"Brightnight," she stammered out, before wondering if she should have used an alias instead of her real designation. Too late to worry about that now.

"A lovely name for an even lovelier femme. So tell me Brightnight, what do you think of my work?" He took a step back, gesturing across her chassis. A proud smirk graced his face plate and he raised an optic brow expectantly.

He was waiting for her to answer but she was almost too afraid to look. What could this 'Con have done to her? Twisted experimentation, missing or Primus forbid, extra body parts, were all things she was mentally preparing herself to see when she hesitantly looked her body over.

She hummed quizzically though and had to check and recheck that what she saw really was reality. Not only was she not disfigured or mutilated in any way but she looked incredible. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to admire her paint job through the dirt that usually covered her chassis. Not that there had been much to admire anyway. Between the missing bits of armour, scraplet damage and the onset of rust, she had had very little paint left. But now, her usually grey body armour shone black as obsidian and was highlighted by brilliant gold paint that had previously been reduced to nothing but flecks of brown

Looking beyond the mere surface, Brightnight also saw that her armour had all been either replaced or extensively repaired. Knowing the extent of the damage to not only her armour but the protoform itself, that could not have been an easy task. And this was no patch job. She had been repaired seamlessly. She ran her fingers tentatively over the metal. Where once was only gaping scraplet wounds and rust, now was as smooth as a newborn sparkling's protoform. Holding her intakes, she looked over her shoulder, wishing but trying to not get her hopes up too high. She couldn't help the gasp as coolant welled up in her optics. Her wings! Not only were they now whole again but they were beautiful.

Knockout smiled, "I take it you approve of my handy work. Of course I couldn't get your finish nearly as illustrious as my own but then again that would be impossible. I'm a medic not a miracle worker. No finish could ever compare to mine."

"Why?"

"Good genetics and a rigorous maintenance and buffing schedule."

"No, I mean why fix me up?"

"Oh yes that, of course. As a medic I am obligated to repair a bot in need. And as a perfectionist I am obligated not to let you leave here without having a proper detailing done on your paint job. I will have to educate you on the importance of proper finish maintenance. My patients are a reflection on me so you will take care of that paint job from now on young femme. Understood?" His voice went unusually stern at that last part.

Brightnight was stunned but nodded all the same. She wasn't going to disagree with him. She had already decided that he was crazy, she didn't want him angry too.

"I've let the boss bot know that you're awake. He'll be here in a moment to speak with you."

"Megatron?" Her voice was merely a petrified squeak as she forced her vocaliser to speak the name of the mech that Neutrals feared most.

"My dear, you have been out of the loop haven't you. " It was a statement, not a question. The amused smirk on the 'Con medic's face did nothing to placate Brightnight's fears. "Haven't you heard? The war is over. The Autobots won."

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Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of this story. I would consider it an honour if any Transformers fans would leave a review with their honest opinion of this story so far.